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Rush Select at PDT - Day 4 Champions!

Last Updated on Friday, 01 March 2013 12:48

Rush Select had 4 teams that made the semifinals, more than at any other time for the program. The early game saw the B14 compete against a team that they had tied 0-0 earlier in the tournament in bracket play which resulted them going in to a PK shoot out to see who would come out top of the group. The game immediately took a very familiar feel, and within the first 10 minutes B14 conceded a penalty, but a good save and some good fortune allowed the ball to stay out of the goal. The game continued in a similar vein as the previous encounter and the game ended 0-0. This time around unfortunately, the B14 were unable to convert enough penalties and were eliminated at this last juncture. The team had done exceptionally well all weekend and scored 13 goals and conceded 0, but unfortunately the loss in the semifinal shoot out meant they were eliminated.

The second set of games saw the G17, B15 (pictured above at right) and B16 (lower right) all play at the 10:15 time slot. The G17 had a marvelous run to this point but were unable to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the first 45 minutes and lost 2-1. This left the B15 and B16 to fly the Rush flag, which they did with great displays. The B16 played Real Salt Lake and in a tough fought game came out 1-0 winners to advance to the finals for the first time as a select group, and the B15 overcame a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1 and reach their 3rd consecutive PDT final. With about 2 hours rest the turn around was quick before the finals.

The championship games kicked off at the same time on adjacent fields and as always the support was great. The B16, coached by Nathan Hunt and Laila Modi, worked very hard and in a very even first half were held at 0-0. The B15 started shaky and gave away an early penalty, but goalkeeper Molde dived full out to his right and made the save. With 10 minutes left of the first half, Zach Emerson scored his first to put the guys into a 1-0 lead at the break.

Both games continued the trend in the second half and after the B15 (at right) won a PK of their own, Zach again scored to put the game almost out of reach. The other field saw a few chances and the game moved into the closing stages still at 0-0. A third PK of

the day in the B15 match saw Zach shoot wide and give a glimmer of hope to FC Dallas, but this was soon extinguished when Zach completed his hat-trick. The final whistle blew and the B15 coaches by Arian Hoxha and Nick Vitale completed the “three-peat” and extended their unbeaten run to 5 tournaments and 30 games.

On the other field the B16 championship ended 0-0 and put the boys in to their second PK shoot out in as many days. Although Rush missed one the other 4 shooters scored to secure them winning the shoot out and earn the second Rush Select Championship of the day. This was a great way to end the tournament and the most successful Rush Select event to date.

The Rush Select group played 46 games over the weekend and ended with a record of 27 wins, 11 losses and 8 draws. Below you can see all the results for the tournament by age.

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

Record

Goals For

Goals Against

B13

4-0

1-4

1-1

3-1

X

X

2-1-1

9

6

B14

3-0

8-0

0-0

2-0

0-0

X

3-0-2

13

0

B15

4-0

0-0

6-0

3-1

2-1

3-0

5-1-0

18

2

B16

2-1

1-1

4-2

2-1

1-0

0-0

4-2-0

10

5

B17

3-0

1-3

0-0

0-0

X

X

2-1-1

4

3

G13

6-0

4-1

1-0

0-2

X

X

3-1-0

11

3

G14

0-1

6-1

0-0

3-0

X

X

2-1-1

9

2

G15

1-3

2-1

6-0

0-2

X

X

2-2-0

9

6

G16

1-1

3-0

0-1

4-0

X

X

2-1-1

8

2

G17

1-1

2-0

1-0

0-0

1-2

X

2-1-2

5

3

Total

27-11-8

96

32

Day 3

With 20 games in the bag, the PDT day 3 saw 10 morning games to see who would advance to the championship rounds. The morning started with the B14 Select coming out with a 0-0 tie that forced them into a penalty shootout to see who would advance topping the group. Brian Lux’s group prevailed to win the group and move on to the quarterfinals. The team was followed by the G13 (winning 1-0) and the G15 (6-0) winners and both advancing. Unfortunately the G16 and G14 were unable to advance to the quarter finals, and a 1-1 tie also eliminated the B13. The morning continued with the B15 (6-0, pictured at halftime), B17 (1-1 ), B16 (2-1) and the G17 (1-1) all progressing to the quarterfinals.

On limited rest and heading in to the fourth game in two days, the 7 teams moved into the afternoon/evening quarter finals. After a great first 20 minutes the G15 were unable to convert their chances and ended losing 2-0. The

G13 (at right) played some very attractive soccer, but were foiled by a very athletic opponent and also were eliminated. Next up were the B14 that continues their unbeaten run with a convincing 2-0 win, which was closely followed by the B15 who were not really tested with a 3-1 victory. The remaining games were not quite as straight forward, with the B17 losing in a penalty shootout. The G17 and the B16 were also pushed all the way and came out victorious in their shootouts to make the semifinals. Again the coaches nominated the players of the day with Payton Miller of Texas Rush (B15), playing an outstanding two games at the holding midfield position, breaking up play and starting attacks and Rachael Estopare (OR) who not only kept the G17 in the game but saved a PK in the shootout to help the girls advance. Each player received a Champions League match ball from adidas. All in all a good day, with 7 teams entering the quarter finals and four progressing to tomorrow’s semifinals. Keep up with all of the updates on our Rush Select Facebook and Twitter pages.

PDT Day 2 saw 20 games for the Rush on the first day of competition with a record of 12-4-4. The teams averaged more than 3 goals a game and conceded less than one goal a game. All ten teams are in a position to advance to the quarter finals with a positive result tomorrow.

There were some stand out performances from Sydney Schmidt of the G13 Select and Brandon Perdue of the B14 (Brandon scored 5 goals on the day. Both players received official Champions League match balls for their accomplishments.

The day ended with the game of the day seeing over 100 Rush players out cheering on the B15 Select. Just like last year, the tournament embraced the fans, although the local mall cop did have other ideas. The Rush songs were in full force and the players were have a great time.

Games start early again in the morning, and you can follow the progress on the Rush Select Face book page, including pictures and videos. You can see the list of results from Day 1 below.

U14 Girls

U15 Boys

Date

Game Time

Rush Team

Opponent

Field #

Staff

Result

2/16

8:30

B13

AZSC (AZ)

RM1

AV, AR

4-0

2/16

8:30

B17

Sporting (KS)

Reach 1

EU, RM

3-0

2/16

8:30

G15

PAC NW (WA)

Reach 13

CP, SD

1-3

2/16

10:05

B14

Rio (NM)

SSC 1

BL, SK

3-0

2/16

10:05

G13

NM Rush

RM 5

RF, SL

6-0

2/16

10:15

G16

TSA (AZ)

Reach 15

MM, TA

1-1

2/16

10:15

G17

Forza (UT)

Reach 5

CS, JC

1-1

2/16

11:40

G14

Toro (NE)

SSC 4

DH, MZ

0-1

2/16

12:00

B15

FC Blazers (MA)

SS 6

AH, NV

4-0

2/16

13:15

B13

Real (CO)

RM 2

AV, AR

1-4

2/16

13:45

B16

Windy City (IL)

Reach 12

NH, LM

2-1

2/16

13:45

B17

Rio (NM)

Reach 4

EU, RM

1-3

2/16

14:50

B14

Impact (CND)

SS 4

BL, SK

8-0

2/16

15:30

G15

La Roca (UT)

Reach 13

CP, SD

2-1

2/16

16:25

G13

North Star (MN)

RM 4

RF, SL

4-1

2/16

17:15

G16

Windy City (IL)

Reach 6

MM, TA

3-0

2/16

19:00

B15

SC Del Sol (AZ)

Reach 11

AH, NV

0-0

2/16

19:35

G14

NM Rush (NM)

SSC 3

DH, MZ

6-1

2/16

20:45

B16

Sereno (AZ)

Reach 11

NH, LM

1-1

2/16

20:45

G17

TSA (AZ)

Reach 6

CS, JC

2-0

Rush Select at PDT - Day 1

One of the biggest challenges for the coaches of Rush Select is to try and bring a team of players together from many different states in a short period of time in order to play and ultimately win a major tournament. Rush Select took an extra step this year to help in this process by taking all of the teams down to Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, one of the premier sports training facilities in the country. With 8 full size lighted fields, dormitories, a restaurant for the players and a world class gym, this was the perfect facility for what Select was looking for.

Based about an hour from the hotel, the 165 players and 40 staff arrived around 10am and took the field for an initial training session. Set pieces were top of the agenda to insure that the players were organized for the tournament starting on Saturday. Most coaches went through some technical warm ups and played to help gel players as quickly as possible. A spaghetti lunch immediately was served after the training session, followed by time in the classroom to go over tactics, game day priorities and formations. The afternoon provided time for team building exercises for the coaches that ranged from more time on the field, in the classroom, or in the indoor facility.

The visit to Casa Grande ended with dinner and a Select wide meeting with Matt Mittelstaedt, Rush Regional Technical Director, speaking to the players about a couple of the Rush Core Values of Respect and Passion.

The isolation and focus that Casa Grande provided allowed the coaches to really get across what they were looking for as well as providing a high quality education for the players. Games kick off at 8:30 Saturday morning, so follow us on Facebook/rushselect for more updates on the weekend.